Yesterday, Gov. David A. Paterson’s (D-NY) press secretary, announced her resignation. In doing so, Marissa Shorenstein, became the 5th senior-level state official to step down amid the scandal that has cast a cloud over the Paterson administration.

The scandal surrounds what actions Gov. Paterson may have taken to interfere with the legal process in a domestic violence incident involving one of his top aides.

The statement that Shorenstein issued about her resignation was one of those smile-like-you-mean-it statements that are typical in these situations:

"It has been a privilege to serve New York State for the past two years, and I thank the governor for giving me the opportunity to do so.”

I guess social grace precludes someone like Shorenstein from saying, "I was determined not to be the last one to jump overboard before the ship sank."

A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas to at least a half-dozen Nevada companies with connections to ethically tained Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). Politico calls the subpoenas "a sign that the criminal probe into Ensign’s romantic relationship with a former aide is accelerating."

KLAS, the CBS-TV affiliate in Las Vegas, reports:

The subpoenas sought any and all records; including emails, phone calls and calendars regarding any interaction the Las Vegas businesses may have had with Ensign, his Chief of Staff John Lopez, Doug Hampton, Hampton's wife Cindy -- the object of the senator's romantic interest -- Ensign's principal political advisor Mike Slanker, and Slanker's company November Inc.

Slanker and wife Lindsay were hired by Ensign to run the fundraising effort for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

After Ensign's affair with Hampton's wife became known, Ensign urged the Slankers to hire Hampton at November Inc. Hampton was later hired by two Nevada companies with known ties to Ensign, but the trail of subpoenas makes it clear the Justice Department wants to know if other Las Vegas businesses had their arms twisted to give work to Hampton, or whether they were pressured by Ensign or his senate staffers, and what the businesses expected in return.

By a 402-1 vote, the House ethics committee was urged to continue its investigation of Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), even though the congressman has resigned. But did the committee ever hang up its cleats?

That depends on whom you talk to. Some media reports declared the Massa investigation over. But Politico quoted a senior Democratic aide who insisted that the committee had never ended its probe into Massa's alleged misbehavior.

Rep. Massa resigned earlier this week amid charges of having improper physical contact with at least four aides. The congressman acknowledged behaving inappropriately, but he insisted that there was nothing sexual about the contact.

If Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) believed the ethical cloud above him would dissipate, events have proven him wrong. Yesterday's New York Times reported:

Previously undisclosed e-mail messages turned over to the F.B.I. and Senate ethics investigators provide new evidence about Senator John Ensign’s efforts to steer lobbying work to the embittered husband of his former mistress and could deepen his legal and political troubles.

... [The e-mails] appear to undercut the senator’s assertion that he did not know the work might involve Congressional lobbying, which could violate a federal ban on such activities by staff members for a year after leaving government.

This news has prompted media in Sen. Ensign's home state to renew their examination of the scandal. Yesterday, the CBS-TV affiliate in Las Vegas provided this report (click on video at top right). In this TV story, CREW's Melanie Sloan calls the email messages "further evidence" that Sen. Ensign was engaged in activity that is "completely against the law."

Mark Critz, a former staffer to the late Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), has asked an ethics panel to release transcripts of interviews conducted with him when the panel was probing earmarks by Murtha.

Critz's request of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) follows concerns raised by a political rival about Critz's role in those earmarks. The rival, former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer, has since dropped out of the race to fill the House seat that Murtha's death left vacant.

According to Roll Call:

The OCE report, which concluded that Murtha did not take campaign donations into account when providing earmarks for PMA clients, included summaries of interviews with Murtha and several staff members, but Critz’s interview was not included.

Critz’s request is apparently the first of its kind for the Office of Congressional Ethics, which was established in March 2008, and it is not clear whether the subject of an OCE investigation can request the release of documents.

On Tuesday, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) submitted H. Res. 1147, a resolution that would amend the Rules of the House of Representatives to require members to hold public meetings -- after advance public notice -- to explain earmark requests they intend to submit and to provide a forum for constituent participation.

Rep. Speier’s proposal would advance government accountability by breaking the link between earmarks and campaign contributions, a link forged by the secrecy that typically accompanies earmarks.

CREW applauds Rep. Speier’s efforts to bring transparency to Congress, acting on the well proven adage that sunlight truly is the best disinfectant.

In response to news today that the House Democratic Caucus has decided to ban earmarks, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan issued this statement:

“CREW applauds House Democrats for finally recognizing that the American public is tired of watching members of Congress trade earmarks for campaign contributions. This is a terrific first step in breaking the link between campaign dollars and legislation.

“It is ironic, of course, that this action follows so close on the heels of the House Ethics Committee’s PMA report, which found no link between contributions and earmarks, but then again no one really believed that anyway.”

According to the Washington Post, Democratic leaders announced the earmark ban at a meeting of the party's caucus. The Post reports that the new rule "forbids private contractors from receiving earmarks."

Rep. David Obey (D-WI), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, has estimated that the 2010 federal budget for this fiscal year included more than 1,000 earmarks to private companies. Most of these earmarks were part of the Pentagon's annual budget.

Four years after news of the Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) scandal broke, the controversy surrounding Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) was handled much more responsibly by House leadership. CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan compares the two sex impropriety scandals in this op-ed at Politico:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington regularly condemns politicians for disgraceful conduct. It is a rare day when we can praise someone for getting it right. Today is one of those days.

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) may be ranting to anyone who will listen that House majority leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) forced him out of Congress because he voted against health care reform. But the truth is that Hoyer stood up against sexual harassment of staff members.

In early February, a top Massa aide sought advice from Hoyer about how to handle allegations that Massa had sexually harassed one of his male aides. Hoyer told him to turn the information over to the House Ethics Committee — or Hoyer would report the allegations himself. The staffer told the ethics panel and was interviewed twice by investigators, who also interviewed other top Massa aides.

Contrast Hoyer’s conduct with that of many members of Congress in another recent scandal.

Click here to read the rest of her column.

The controversy surrounding Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) and his hastily announced resignation is taking on a new and bizarre twist. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has called the congressman's claims that a conspiracy forced him out "silly and ridiculous."

Meanwhile, Roll Call provides this snapshot of the work environment inside Rep. Massa's office:

During his weekly radio show Sunday on New York station WKPQ Power 105 FM, Massa, a retired Naval officer, acknowledged that his “salty” language had at times offended members of his own staff.

“I am guilty of using language [that] I am sure that would turn someone’s hair white. But it was in the privacy of my own home and in the privacy of my inner office,” Massa said.

... One incident in January, Massa continued, prompted him to issue a staff-wide memorandum, requiring everyone in his office — himself included — to adhere to “a higher standard” of behavior.

“I said something that was out of bounds. I said, ‘I had to go lick lollipops to raise money.’ Now you can use your imagination to know what I actually said,” Massa recalled. “It was inappropriate. I actually had someone on the staff say, ‘Come on now boss,’ and I said, ‘You’re right, I’m sorry.’”

New York Gov. David Paterson's recent announcement that he would not seek re-election followed allegations that the governor's office may have tried to interfere with a domestic violence case. Yet New York isn't the only state where ethics is making the news.

* In North Carolina, the state commission that regulates alcoholic beverage sales may draft a voluntary ethics code in the wake of stories that raised ethics concerns. According to one newspaper, Gov. Beverly Perdue is pushing the state commission to ban gifts that "might be perceived as swaying booze buying decisions."

* In Utah, legislative leaders have pushed their own ethics bills in hopes of heading off the momentum for ballot initiatives that citizens groups are proposing as ethics reform. In this op-ed column, a business leader cites the state House Majority Leader's recent statement dissing citizen-led reform as proof why an initiative is needed: "Could there be a more resounding endorsement for putting this initiative on the ballot and letting the people of Utah weigh in on this important matter?"

* In Connecticut, a former state prosecutor has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine to settle a complaint brought by the state's ethics office. The state panel stated that L. Mark Hurley violated ethics rules by "using his access to funds paid by . . . defendants for his own personal use."

* In Florida, a Tea Party activist has filed an ethics complaint against a state legislator concerning travel expenses and campaign finance rules.